What’s new for Microsoft Edge users in the Windows 10 Creators Update

One big failing with Windows 10 is that despite Edge being a Store app Microsoft does not update it regularly, preferring to add new features with major updates to the OS.

We have therefore been waiting quite a few months since the Anniversary Update for new features to come to the browser, but the good news is that this has meant Microsoft has built up quite a list of goodies to deliver.

For regular users, the major new feature they will likely notice is the new tab management capabilities. Users now see tab previews with a new button on the task bar and are now able to “set aside” tabs, allowing you, for example, to use one set of tabs for one project, save it while you move on to another project, and then retrieve this later again. You can even share this collection with others, which is a great way to collaborate. Edge now finally also has support for Jumplists, allowing you to open a new or private window directly from the taskbar.

New users would appreciate now being able to import more data from Chrome and other browsers, including saved passwords, browsing history and more from Chrome. You can now also import your favourites from a file. The poor favourite management system has now been merged into the main settings page.

All users will, of course, appreciate the improved rendering of the browser, with better support for Webkit features due to the upgraded EdgeHTML engine, such as support for CSS Custom Properties, webRTC 1.0, background notifications and a lot more that help close the gap with other browsers.

Like Chrome, Edge will now also block Flash by default but will notify you of this and let you activate flash on a one-time or permanent basis.

One of Microsoft’s headline features is the support for the EPUB format in Edge, allowing you to use the browser to read ebooks, which Microsoft will also be selling from the store. Microsoft has added a number of features to support this, such as being able to read books out loud, a Books section in the Edge Hub, and other minor changes. Microsoft also made improvements to the PDF reader in the browser, which is now able to search the document for words, an improved UI and presentation, the options for an always visible toolbar and other minor changes.

Microsoft is also adding support for new technologies such as WebVR, Web Payments using the Microsoft Wallet, FIDO 2.0 to match the latest W3C Web Authentication, support for Content Security Policy 2 and more, while Apps for Websites is now working.

Developers will appreciate features such as improved ES6 Modules debugging in F12 Developer Tools.

Lastly, there are also the usual ubiquitous general performance, battery life and user interface improvements, and a whole new array of about:flags settings which should keep expert users happy.

The list above is not comprehensive, and I am sure Microsoft would agree with my suggestion that with the Creators Update Windows 10 users should give the browser one more try.

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